Travel

Most Incredible Places for Snowboarding

By  | 

There are so many good reasons why you should try snowboarding, in fact, there are so many great arguments why snowboarding is superior to its counterpart skiing. First of all, there are no poles and the boots are much comfier than skies are. Second, off-piste snowboarding is fairly easy, which means that you can try it out as soon as you master the basics. Third, one of the most common arguments you’ll hear about snowboarding is that it came into existence as the innovation of skiing. Finally, you need to keep in mind that there’s an old saying that the skiing is easier to learn but harder to master, while snowboarding is harder to learn but easier to master.

With all of this in mind, it’s hard to find an argument against snowboarding. Still, your overall snowboarding experience depends on the location you pick, regardless if you’re a seasoned snowboarder or not. This means that you’ll have the sense of self-accomplishment a lot sooner if you carry on down this path. With that in mind and without further ado, here are top five incredible places for snowboarding that you should definitely check out.

1.      Queenstown, New Zealand

The first location you need to mark on your list is definitely Queenstown, New Zealand, place famous for its many winter activities. Even the way in which this place became a tourist haven is quite epic, due to the fact that it was carved out by glaciers, rivers and lakes. In other words, the very force of nature hand-tailored this land in order to make it into an ultimate skiing resort.

The main reason why you need to snowboard here is the incredible Coronet Peak, which is the only place in New Zealand where night skiing is allowed. Needless to say, this provides you with a completely unique and outstanding experience. Aside from having some of the best snowboarding tracks in the world, it also has a vibrant nightlife and world-class dining options. Most importantly, despite it being called “the adventure capital of the world” it’s also a place where you can bring your entire family.

2.      Niseko, Japan

For all the snowboarders out there, ski holidays to Japan have to find a place on to do list. This country has an abundance of amazing snowboarding locations, like Hakuba Valley or Nozawa Onsen. However, if we had to single out just one destination, it would definitely have to be Niseko, the jewel of the Hokkaido island. Even though this place is currently insanely popular, it’s also a place with seven massive ski areas, which guarantees an ultimate snowboarding experience, regardless of the season. Needless to say, it’s also a great place for making friends from all over the world, which should definitely be one of your main goals.

Most importantly, it’s the place with the highest average snowfall in Japan, nonetheless, it’s not just the quantity but also the quality of snow that counts. As for the resort itself, it’s a high-tech ski resort, meaning that you can track lift status over your smartphone and even inspect some of its tracks this way. Most importantly, this ensures a much greater safety level of your overall skiing experience. One more thing that ensures this is your ability to get all the latest avalanche information whenever you need it.

3.      Blafjöll, Iceland

Located in the south of Iceland, Blafjöll is a haven for snowboarders all around the world. This luxurious resort is located on elevations that range between 460 and 700 m of height, which is an impressive feature on its own. Still, with 15 lifts, this resort has a system that’s more than efficient in handling this impressive landscape. Earlier on, we talked about the probability of night skiing, well, those who are primarily interested in this phenomenon needn’t look further than Blafjöll.

Aside from this, you also have some impressive volcanic landscapes to admire, thus rounding up a complete and unforgettable snowboarding experience. One of the most peculiar aspects of this particular resorts lies in the fact that it has a much greater percentage of local visitors than any of the locations listed above. This alone should make an Icelandic snowboarding experience more authentic, even semi-autochthonous.

4.      Big Sky, Montana

Speaking about high-end resorts, it’s impossible to avoid mentioning Big Sky, Montana. This amazing place has an abundance of skiable acres (over 5,850), covered with the staggering figure of 36 lifts. The full magnitude of this can only be seen when compared to any other resort named on the list, even though the number of lifts hardly serves as a unit of measure of resort’s quality. Aside from skiing and snowboarding, this area is also known for its mountain biking and zip line tours (provided that you get there out of the season). As for the lodging, it’s a bit expensive, yet worth every penny. Those intending to visit this place in fall might even decide to go for a fall golf pass.

5.      Val Thorens, France

Located in the French Alps, Val Thorens is, beyond doubt, one of the most beautiful (if not the most beautiful) places for snowboarding in Europe. In fact, this place isn’t just ideal for skiing and snowboarding but for virtually any winter sport that you may have in mind. As for the magnitude of the resort, we’re talking about 68 slopes (over 140 kilometers of a skiable surface) and 30 lifts. Another great thing here is that you have a wide variety of different slopes, ranging from those that are ideal for beginners and all the way up to those that are meant for experts. Most importantly, this place also has a day nursery and ski kindergarten, which makes it ideal for families who want to set their children on this path early on.

In conclusion

As you can see, there are some outstanding places for you to snowboard at in nearly every corner of the world. The only question you need to ask is the one of time, budget and effort. Some people simply aren’t passionate enough about snowboarding to go halfway across the world for a perfect slope. For others, this is but a minor inconvenience.

 

Author: Emily Wilson

“ Emily is a business psychologist with a passion for travelling. Researching, exploring and writing are here favourite things to do. She works as a consultant at Liquid Snow Tours. Beside that, she likes animals and music.”

avatar

SOCIAL Magazine is always looking for new talent. If you are interested in becoming a contributor, please contact editorial@socialifestylemag.com

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply